The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-12-22
For THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER.
MENTAL RAMBLING ON AGRI-
CULTURE. "

w lou disease StlAeS tIc UOuy, CuLd-
tives must be administered to induce
recovery. The soil is diseased and
needs Immediate treatment. We know
that the world does not expand, or its
surface grow and enlarge. Not SO
with the population that subsist upon
it. They are constantly increasing,
Does the means of subsistence increase
proportionately. They ought to meet
the increased demands, else the wis
dom of the Creator is at fault, charge
we can't establish. Is an increase of
production on a given space possible :?
This is the vital question. An affrma-
tive answer is the only rational one.
To deny it would be to deny the omi
n~iscence of God. The following is
proof sufficient to satisfy any m OF
this point. There is not an individual
who reads this but knows some plot of
land that produces more than it did
when the forest was first taken off it.
The same treatment that made this
favored spot more productive would
make all others nor productive, that
are susceptible of cultivation. There
can be but one valid excuse for not
enriching every foot of arabic land.
That is want of sources from which to
draw manurial properties. If this can
be made appear, then the great prob
lem of successful farming is solved.
Take the man who runs a one-horse
farm. He has at least one acre of
LID that 10 loffo~ &hor -ha~ G1c&
cleared. This is commonly a con
venient lot that all are
dropped upon without any handling
or care. If all the in his
reach were carefully husbanded and
composted they would be augmented
at least four fold. Half of it at least
is washed away or wasted in other
ways, and the remaining half could be
made double it's value by proper anip-
lation. Now by saving the wasted
half and doubling the remaining half,
he will increase the domestic supply
four fold. Besides this, there is a
commercial field of supply that is in
exhaustable.
According to the computations of
the best geographers three-fourths of
the surface of the earth is not arabic,
but is a source in some Measure of
manureal supplies that we can draw
from.
While we are not advocates of
prodigality in the purchase of COM
mercial fertilizers, we do advise that
when the domestic sources give out,
and we have the means on hand to
spare, that they cannot be invested
better and more secure that by using
them to enrich lands. Nothing is
| palmer than when the sources of
wealth are flush, the income will not
be stinted. The farmers sources of
wealth depends entirely ON the fertility
of the soil he cultivates. Is it not
wisdom in him to augment these
sources if he expects an increase in
yield =?
We attempted to show in the outset
of this communication that an in
creased production will be an absolute
necessity in the near future or suffer
ing must evidently follow. We can
not avoid 1T by emigration, for all
sections will be taxed to their utmost
in coming time to meet the demands
made upon the soil. And besides, we
don't want our best working boys to go
away to W sections on the wave
of emigration. We need them among
us, not to impoverish our land, but to
help reclaim it. To encourage them
to stay with us, we must inaugurate
an efficient system of industrial educa-
ton. Such a one is now being set on
foot through the instrumentalities of
the advocates of our Agricultural and
Mechanical College. We hail it as an
owen of a better system of agricul-
ture.
We are anxious for an improvement
in our common school by the intro
duction of textbooks upon this sub
ject, in order that the child may be
started in a right direction at the be-
ginning of his education. Four-ffths,
if not nine-tenths of the attendants at
these schools are the children of farm
ers, and are likely to stay in that pro-
f~ession. If the object of common
schools is to properly educate the
masses, let us start a system that i'm
mediately bears on the subjects that
they are, likely to engage in in after
life. We don't mean that the rudi-
mentary branches taught in these
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